She said: “I’ll be very upset. I’ll be lining the street with everybody else, and I’m just going to be me, not Cilla.

“We’ll give her a good send off, that’s what I said to the passengers when I did my tribute show.”

The grandmother of one, who also has two grown-up sons, said she never met Cilla, but told how the celebrity had actually been mistaken for her once.

Both Brenda and Cilla happened to be holidaying in Barbados at the same time when a friend of the family mistook the Blind Date and Surprise Surprise presenter for Brenda.

When asked what she would have said to Cilla if they had ever met, Brenda said: “I might have said ‘What’s your name and where do you come from?’”

Brenda, who now lives in Rushyford in County Durham, has also penned a book titled Stage By Stage, due to be released next week, about her successful career which began in working men’s clubs around the North East.

Impressionist: Brenda says the news came as a 'big shock' to her and other passengers (Image: Chronicle Live)

Before joining the cruise ship entertainment industry, Brenda also worked with Frank Carson, Chubby Brown, Bernard Manning and Bruce Forsyth.

She also worked as a magician’s assistant for Clive Webb, who now stars in the pantomimes at Newcastle Theatre Royal each year alongside son Danny Adams.

Although Brenda admits Cilla has been a “big part” in her life, she has no plans to retire from performing on the cruises every month.

She said: “I still get nervous before I go on stage before an unknown audience but I love it.”

Missed: Cilla suffered a stroke when she fell and hit her head (Image: PA)

Cilla Black was 72 when she died in Spain after suffering a stroke when she fell and hit her head.

Her funeral will take place at St Mary’s Church in Woolton on Thursday before she is laid to rest next to her parents. Thousands of fans are expected to attend the service for the popular personality.